CUPE members picket at Queen’s Park in Toronto, on Nov. 4.Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail
Ontario’s labour relations board says the provincial government has withdrawn its application to have a walkout by 55,000 education workers declared illegal.
The workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees walked off the job last Friday after the government passed legislation that imposed a contract and banned a strike.
On Monday, Premier Doug Ford promised to rescind the legislation if the workers ended their job action, and CUPE said employees would be back at work the next day.
The walkout had shut hundreds of schools to in-person learning.
The Ontario Labour Relations Board says government lawyers told the board on Wednesday that they were withdrawing the province’s application, and CUPE’s legal counsel consented to the withdrawal.
CUPE and the government returned to the bargaining table on Tuesday and negotiations are continuing.